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DateTime Structure
DateTime Methods
ToString Method
 ToString Method (String, IFormatPro...

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This page is specific to
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:
.NET Framework Class Library
DateTime..::.ToString Method (String, IFormatProvider)

Updated: July 2008

Converts the value of the current DateTime object to its equivalent string representation using the specified format and culture-specific format information.

Namespace:  System
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public Function ToString ( _
    format As String, _
    provider As IFormatProvider _
) As String
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As DateTime
Dim format As String
Dim provider As IFormatProvider
Dim returnValue As String

returnValue = instance.ToString(format, _
    provider)
C#
public string ToString(
    string format,
    IFormatProvider provider
)
Visual C++
public:
virtual String^ ToString(
    String^ format, 
    IFormatProvider^ provider
) sealed
JScript
public final function ToString(
    format : String, 
    provider : IFormatProvider
) : String

Parameters

format
Type: System..::.String
A DateTime format string.
provider
Type: System..::.IFormatProvider
An IFormatProvider that supplies culture-specific formatting information.

Return Value

Type: System..::.String
A string representation of value of the current DateTime object as specified by format and provider.

Implements

IFormattable..::.ToString(String, IFormatProvider)
ExceptionCondition
FormatException

The length of format is 1, and it is not one of the format specifier characters defined for DateTimeFormatInfo.

-or-

format does not contain a valid custom format pattern.

The format parameter can contain either a single format specifier character (see Standard Date and Time Format Strings) or a custom format pattern (see Custom Date and Time Format Strings). If format is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) or an empty string (""), the standard format specifier, 'G', is used.

The provider parameter defines the pattern that corresponds to the standard format specifiers, as well as the symbols and names of date and time components. The provider parameter can be any of the following:

If provider is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic), the DateTimeFormatInfo associated with the current culture is used. For more information, see CultureInfo..::.CurrentCulture.

The following example uses each of the standard date time format strings to display the string representation of a date and time for four different cultures.

Visual Basic
Imports System.Globalization

Module Example
   Public Sub Main()
      ' Create an array of all supported standard date and time format specifiers.
      Dim formats() As String = {"d", "D", "f", "F", "g", "G", "m", "o", "r", _
                                 "s", "t", "T", "u", "U", "Y"}
      ' Create an array of four cultures.                                 
      Dim cultures() As CultureInfo = {CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("de-DE"), _
                                       CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-US"), _
                                       CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("es-ES"), _
                                       CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("fr-FR")}
       ' Define date to be displayed.
      Dim dateToDisplay As Date = #10/1/2008 17:04:32#

      ' Iterate each standard format specifier.
      For Each formatSpecifier As String In formats
         For Each culture As CultureInfo In cultures
            Console.WriteLine("{0} Format Specifier {1, 10} Culture {2, 40}", _
                              formatSpecifier, culture.Name, _
                              dateToDisplay.ToString(formatSpecifier, culture))
         Next
         Console.WriteLine()
      Next                                       
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'    d Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                               01.10.2008
'    d Format Specifier      en-US Culture                                10/1/2008
'    d Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                               01/10/2008
'    d Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                               01/10/2008
'    
'    D Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008
'    D Format Specifier      en-US Culture              Wednesday, October 01, 2008
'    D Format Specifier      es-ES Culture         mi�rcoles, 01 de octubre de 2008
'    D Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                  mercredi 1 octobre 2008
'    
'    f Format Specifier      de-DE Culture          Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008 17:04
'    f Format Specifier      en-US Culture      Wednesday, October 01, 2008 5:04 PM
'    f Format Specifier      es-ES Culture   mi�rcoles, 01 de octubre de 2008 17:04
'    f Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            mercredi 1 octobre 2008 17:04
'    
'    F Format Specifier      de-DE Culture       Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008 17:04:32
'    F Format Specifier      en-US Culture   Wednesday, October 01, 2008 5:04:32 PM
'    F Format Specifier      es-ES Culture mi�rcoles, 01 de octubre de 2008 17:04:3
'    F Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture         mercredi 1 octobre 2008 17:04:32
'    
'    g Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                         01.10.2008 17:04
'    g Format Specifier      en-US Culture                        10/1/2008 5:04 PM
'    g Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                         01/10/2008 17:04
'    g Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                         01/10/2008 17:04
'    
'    G Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                      01.10.2008 17:04:32
'    G Format Specifier      en-US Culture                     10/1/2008 5:04:32 PM
'    G Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                      01/10/2008 17:04:32
'    G Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                      01/10/2008 17:04:32
'    
'    m Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                               01 Oktober
'    m Format Specifier      en-US Culture                               October 01
'    m Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                               01 octubre
'    m Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                1 octobre
'    
'    o Format Specifier      de-DE Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
'    o Format Specifier      en-US Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
'    o Format Specifier      es-ES Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
'    o Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
'    
'    r Format Specifier      de-DE Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
'    r Format Specifier      en-US Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
'    r Format Specifier      es-ES Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
'    r Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
'    
'    s Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
'    s Format Specifier      en-US Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
'    s Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
'    s Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
'    
'    t Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                                    17:04
'    t Format Specifier      en-US Culture                                  5:04 PM
'    t Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                                    17:04
'    t Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                    17:04
'    
'    T Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                                 17:04:32
'    T Format Specifier      en-US Culture                               5:04:32 PM
'    T Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                                 17:04:32
'    T Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                 17:04:32
'    
'    u Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
'    u Format Specifier      en-US Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
'    u Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
'    u Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
'    
'    U Format Specifier      de-DE Culture     Donnerstag, 2. Oktober 2008 00:04:32
'    U Format Specifier      en-US Culture   Thursday, October 02, 2008 12:04:32 AM
'    U Format Specifier      es-ES Culture    jueves, 02 de octubre de 2008 0:04:32
'    U Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            jeudi 2 octobre 2008 00:04:32
'    
'    Y Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                             Oktober 2008
'    Y Format Specifier      en-US Culture                            October, 2008
'    Y Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                          octubre de 2008
'    Y Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                             octobre 2008

C#
using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      // Create an array of all supported standard date and time format specifiers.
      string[] formats = {"d", "D", "f", "F", "g", "G", "m", "o", "r", 
                          "s", "t", "T", "u", "U", "Y"};
      // Create an array of four cultures.                                 
      CultureInfo[] cultures = {CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("de-DE"), 
                                CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-US"), 
                                CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("es-ES"), 
                                CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("fr-FR")};
       // Define date to be displayed.
      DateTime dateToDisplay = new DateTime(2008, 10, 1, 17, 4, 32);

      // Iterate each standard format specifier.
      foreach (string formatSpecifier in formats)
      {
         foreach (CultureInfo culture in cultures)
            Console.WriteLine("{0} Format Specifier {1, 10} Culture {2, 40}", 
                              formatSpecifier, culture.Name, 
                              dateToDisplay.ToString(formatSpecifier, culture));
         Console.WriteLine();
      }   
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//    d Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                               01.10.2008
//    d Format Specifier      en-US Culture                                10/1/2008
//    d Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                               01/10/2008
//    d Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                               01/10/2008
//    
//    D Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008
//    D Format Specifier      en-US Culture              Wednesday, October 01, 2008
//    D Format Specifier      es-ES Culture         mi�rcoles, 01 de octubre de 2008
//    D Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                  mercredi 1 octobre 2008
//    
//    f Format Specifier      de-DE Culture          Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008 17:04
//    f Format Specifier      en-US Culture      Wednesday, October 01, 2008 5:04 PM
//    f Format Specifier      es-ES Culture   mi�rcoles, 01 de octubre de 2008 17:04
//    f Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            mercredi 1 octobre 2008 17:04
//    
//    F Format Specifier      de-DE Culture       Mittwoch, 1. Oktober 2008 17:04:32
//    F Format Specifier      en-US Culture   Wednesday, October 01, 2008 5:04:32 PM
//    F Format Specifier      es-ES Culture mi�rcoles, 01 de octubre de 2008 17:04:3
//    F Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture         mercredi 1 octobre 2008 17:04:32
//    
//    g Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                         01.10.2008 17:04
//    g Format Specifier      en-US Culture                        10/1/2008 5:04 PM
//    g Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                         01/10/2008 17:04
//    g Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                         01/10/2008 17:04
//    
//    G Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                      01.10.2008 17:04:32
//    G Format Specifier      en-US Culture                     10/1/2008 5:04:32 PM
//    G Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                      01/10/2008 17:04:32
//    G Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                      01/10/2008 17:04:32
//    
//    m Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                               01 Oktober
//    m Format Specifier      en-US Culture                               October 01
//    m Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                               01 octubre
//    m Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                1 octobre
//    
//    o Format Specifier      de-DE Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
//    o Format Specifier      en-US Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
//    o Format Specifier      es-ES Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
//    o Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture              2008-10-01T17:04:32.0000000
//    
//    r Format Specifier      de-DE Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
//    r Format Specifier      en-US Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
//    r Format Specifier      es-ES Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
//    r Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:32 GMT
//    
//    s Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
//    s Format Specifier      en-US Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
//    s Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
//    s Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                      2008-10-01T17:04:32
//    
//    t Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                                    17:04
//    t Format Specifier      en-US Culture                                  5:04 PM
//    t Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                                    17:04
//    t Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                    17:04
//    
//    T Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                                 17:04:32
//    T Format Specifier      en-US Culture                               5:04:32 PM
//    T Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                                 17:04:32
//    T Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                                 17:04:32
//    
//    u Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
//    u Format Specifier      en-US Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
//    u Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
//    u Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                     2008-10-01 17:04:32Z
//    
//    U Format Specifier      de-DE Culture     Donnerstag, 2. Oktober 2008 00:04:32
//    U Format Specifier      en-US Culture   Thursday, October 02, 2008 12:04:32 AM
//    U Format Specifier      es-ES Culture    jueves, 02 de octubre de 2008 0:04:32
//    U Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture            jeudi 2 octobre 2008 00:04:32
//    
//    Y Format Specifier      de-DE Culture                             Oktober 2008
//    Y Format Specifier      en-US Culture                            October, 2008
//    Y Format Specifier      es-ES Culture                          octubre de 2008
//    Y Format Specifier      fr-FR Culture                             octobre 2008

The following code example demonstrates different ways of formatting a DateTime value using the invariant DateTimeFormatInfo.

Visual Basic
Option Explicit
Option Strict

Imports System
Imports System.Globalization

Public Class MainClass

    Public Shared Sub Main()
        Dim dt As DateTime = DateTime.Now
        Dim myformat() As String =  {"d", "D", _
                                    "f", "F", _
                                    "g", "G", _
                                    "m", _
                                    "r", _
                                    "s", _
                                    "t", "T", _
                                    "u", "U", _
                                    "y", _
                                    "dddd, MMMM dd yyyy", _
                                    "ddd, MMM d ""'""yy", _
                                    "dddd, MMMM dd", _
                                    "M/yy", _
                                    "dd-MM-yy"}
        Dim mydate As String
        Dim i As Integer
        For i = 0 To myformat.Length - 1
            mydate = dt.ToString(myformat(i), DateTimeFormatInfo.InvariantInfo)
            Console.WriteLine(String.Concat(myformat(i), " :", mydate))
        Next i

    ' Output.
    '
    ' d :08/17/2000
    ' D :Thursday, August 17, 2000
    ' f :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32
    ' F :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32:32
    ' g :08/17/2000 16:32
    ' G :08/17/2000 16:32:32
    ' m :August 17
    ' r :Thu, 17 Aug 2000 23:32:32 GMT
    ' s :2000-08-17T16:32:32
    ' t :16:32
    ' T :16:32:32
    ' u :2000-08-17 23:32:32Z
    ' U :Thursday, August 17, 2000 23:32:32
    ' y :August, 2000
    ' dddd, MMMM dd yyyy :Thursday, August 17 2000
    ' ddd, MMM d "'"yy :Thu, Aug 17 '00
    ' dddd, MMMM dd :Thursday, August 17
    ' M/yy :8/00
    ' dd-MM-yy :17-08-00
    End Sub 'Main 
End Class 'MainClass

C#
 using System;
 using System.Globalization; 

public class MainClass { 
    public static void Main(string[] args)  {
        DateTime dt = DateTime.Now;
        String[] format = {
            "d", "D",
            "f", "F",
            "g", "G",
            "m",
            "r",
            "s",
            "t", "T",
            "u", "U",
            "y",
            "dddd, MMMM dd yyyy",
            "ddd, MMM d \"'\"yy",
            "dddd, MMMM dd",
            "M/yy",
            "dd-MM-yy",
        };
        String date;
        for (int i = 0; i < format.Length; i++) {
            date = dt.ToString(format[i], DateTimeFormatInfo.InvariantInfo);
            Console.WriteLine(String.Concat(format[i], " :" , date));
        }

   /** Output.
    *
    * d :08/17/2000
    * D :Thursday, August 17, 2000
    * f :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32
    * F :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32:32
    * g :08/17/2000 16:32
    * G :08/17/2000 16:32:32
    * m :August 17
    * r :Thu, 17 Aug 2000 23:32:32 GMT
    * s :2000-08-17T16:32:32
    * t :16:32
    * T :16:32:32
    * u :2000-08-17 23:32:32Z
    * U :Thursday, August 17, 2000 23:32:32
    * y :August, 2000
    * dddd, MMMM dd yyyy :Thursday, August 17 2000
    * ddd, MMM d "'"yy :Thu, Aug 17 '00
    * dddd, MMMM dd :Thursday, August 17
    * M/yy :8/00
    * dd-MM-yy :17-08-00
    */
    }
}

Visual C++
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Globalization;
void main()
{
   DateTime dt = DateTime::Now;
   array<String^>^format = {L"d",L"D",L"f",L"F",L"g",L"G",L"m",L"r",L"s",L"t",L"T",L"u",L"U",L"y",L"dddd, MMMM dd yyyy",L"ddd, MMM d \"'\"yy",L"dddd, MMMM dd",L"M/yy",L"dd-MM-yy"};
   String^ date;
   for ( int i = 0; i < format->Length; i++ )
   {
      date = dt.ToString( format[ i ], DateTimeFormatInfo::InvariantInfo );
      Console::WriteLine( String::Concat( format[ i ], L" :", date ) );

   }

   /** Output.
       *
       * d :08/17/2000
       * D :Thursday, August 17, 2000
       * f :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32
       * F :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32:32
       * g :08/17/2000 16:32
       * G :08/17/2000 16:32:32
       * m :August 17
       * r :Thu, 17 Aug 2000 23:32:32 GMT
       * s :2000-08-17T16:32:32
       * t :16:32
       * T :16:32:32
       * u :2000-08-17 23:32:32Z
       * U :Thursday, August 17, 2000 23:32:32
       * y :August, 2000
       * dddd, MMMM dd yyyy :Thursday, August 17 2000
       * ddd, MMM d "'"yy :Thu, Aug 17 '00
       * dddd, MMMM dd :Thursday, August 17
       * M/yy :8/00
       * dd-MM-yy :17-08-00
       */
}


JScript
import System;
import System.Globalization; 


var dt : DateTime = DateTime.Now;
var format : String[] = [
    "d", "D",
    "f", "F",
    "g", "G",
    "m",
    "r",
    "s",
    "t", "T",
    "u", "U",
    "y",
    "dddd, MMMM dd yyyy",
    "ddd, MMM d \"'\"yy",
    "dddd, MMMM dd",
    "M/yy",
    "dd-MM-yy",
    ];
var date : String;
for (var i : int = 0; i < format.Length; i++) {
    date = dt.ToString(format[i], DateTimeFormatInfo.InvariantInfo);
    Console.WriteLine(format[i] + " :" + date);
}


   /** Output.
    *
    * d :08/17/2000
    * D :Thursday, August 17, 2000
    * f :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32
    * F :Thursday, August 17, 2000 16:32:32
    * g :08/17/2000 16:32
    * G :08/17/2000 16:32:32
    * m :August 17
    * r :Thu, 17 Aug 2000 23:32:32 GMT
    * s :2000-08-17T16:32:32
    * t :16:32
    * T :16:32:32
    * u :2000-08-17 23:32:32Z
    * U :Thursday, August 17, 2000 23:32:32
    * y :August, 2000
    * dddd, MMMM dd yyyy :Thursday, August 17 2000
    * ddd, MMM d "'"yy :Thu, Aug 17 '00
    * dddd, MMMM dd :Thursday, August 17
    * M/yy :8/00
    * dd-MM-yy :17-08-00
    */

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360, Zune

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 2.0, 1.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.0

Date

History

Reason

July 2008

Added detail on method behavior; added an example.

Information enhancement.

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Can throw ArgumentOutOfRangeException when using certain calenders      David M. Kean   |   Edit   |   Show History

This method throws an ArgumentOutOfRangeException when attempting to format a DateTime whose value is outside the valid range for the current culture's calender. For example, both the JapaneseCalendar and UmAlQuraCalender objects cannot represent every valid value of a DateTime. You can find the range of supported values from the Calendar.MinSupportedDateTime and Calendar.MaxSupportedDateTime properties.

For example, an ArgumentOutOfRangeException will be thrown when using the the JapaneseCalendar to format a date that occurs before September 8th, 1868.

[C#]

using System;
using System.Globalization;

namespace Samples
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
CultureInfo culture = new CultureInfo("ja-JP");
culture.DateTimeFormat.Calendar = new JapaneseCalendar();

DateTime date = new DateTime(1868, 9, 7);


try
{
date.ToString(culture);
}
catch (ArgumentOutOfRangeException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}
}
}
}

The above outputs the following:

Specified time is not supported in this calendar. It should be between 09/08/186
8 00:00:00 (Gregorian date) and 12/31/9999 23:59:59 (Gregorian date), inclusive.


Parameter name: time


This can also occur without explicitly specifying the JapaneseCalendar when the current user's calender is set to the Wareki calendar in Regional and Language Options. To set the calendar to this, do the following in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003:

  1. Choose Start -> Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options
  2. From the Current format drop down, choose Japanese (Japan)
  3. Click Customize this format and select the Date tab
  4. Under Calendar type, choose 和暦
  5. Click OK and then OK again

The following method attempts to call DateTime.ToString() on a DateTime instance with the value September 7th, 1868. This code sample expects the above steps to have been done.

[C#]

using System;
using System.Globalization;

namespace Samples
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
DateTime date = new DateTime(1868, 9, 7);


try
{
date.ToString();
}
catch (ArgumentOutOfRangeException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}
}
}
}

The above outputs the following:

Specified time is not supported in this calendar. It should be between 09/08/186
8 00:00:00 (Gregorian date) and 12/31/9999 23:59:59 (Gregorian date), inclusive.


Parameter name: time
Processing
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